Almost always the safe bet. If the road is not safe to ride in the legally approved fashion, I might suggest not riding it at all (I realize there is no option here., but in general ... )

My worry with crossing to get to the bike/walk lane is exactly that---crossing four lanes of traffic for a tenth of a mile of protected road. When riding in a lane, drivers can see you and basically know what to expect, and since this is two lanes each way, they can go around you. Drivers won't be expecting a cyclist to be crossing from the wrong side or coming head-on and might do stupid things.

Riding with traffic is not a big deal, really. Drivers don't want to hit you because they don't want to see their insurance rates raised. The key is to not surprise them. So take the lane, ride as slow as you need to, let them honk and change lanes, and if things get too bad, pull over to the extreme right and wave some folks by.

On a tour last summer I ran into a situation where one rider had a mechanical and I stayed back to help. It was a two-lane (one each way) road, very narrow, bushes right to the edge and trees behind them, very hilly, very little visibility. When we were ready to go (on a very steep hill but luckily not just past a corner) I stood in the road and blocked traffic to give the other rider (new to the sport) a chance to get up a head of steam on the hill. No one was pleased with us, but nobody threw a fit and nobody hit anybody else---I think because I was doing something drivers could understand (playing traffic cop) whereas if we had tried to just take off, the new rider would likely have weaved while trying to get started, and possibly ridden right in front of the cars which were forcing their ways by.

Boldness can pay off, is the moral of this story. (Of course, one must be compassionate and considerate of the poor suckers stuck in cars as well--I am not saying, "Ride like a richard and screw the cars." I am saying, when it comes down to it, act like a car with a smart, aware driver and take what you need to be safe.)

You Belong on the road, you pay for the road, you have every right to use the road. Know that, and other drivers will understand and adapt.

First, I don't see anything wrong with riding the wrong way on the separated pedestrian path on that bridge, but wrong way on the shoulder before and the sidewalk after would scare me. It looks to me like there are wide lanes and enough room going across normally and you have to take the lane anyway approaching that light and turn-off (so you don't get hooked). I think I'd ride with traffic near the fog line, taking the lane at the end or filtering up depending on traffic. I'd have to actually be there in traffic to be sure though.

Completed the ride. Rode with traffic and felt comfortable taking the lane across the bridge.

A little further up the road, I struggled with a long incline with no shoulder. I got off and walked it up the sidewalk there. Made it to my destination with no other issues. Feeling more confident after my first venture out of town.

Good. You did the right thing - asked questions, got answers, made a decision, tried it, and learned from it. Now you have more experience, more confidence. We all started as "Noob's", and grew from there. You're on your way also.

Dude......

I looked at the street view someone else posted -- that "median" is a SPEED BUMP. Honestly, if you can't cross that with your bike, get a car.

Seeing as how this is PA, and I've heard the horror stories, I'd be in that 'protected path' across the bridge with a quickness. Get close, switch over, and roll.

Didn't see much of a 'blind curve', either, BTW......

I ride which ever side has the better shoulder. I've never been stopped for riding against traffic before. I'm pretty sure LEO's would rather have you be safe. There's a 6 mile stretch (going south) of the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway in Oregon that you ride against traffic on a busy highway because there's a limited shoulder on the other side. The only tricky part is where that shoulder ends and the shoulder going with traffic begins, forcing you to cross the highway at a blind curve. The north bound stretch is about 4 miles.

I'd Much rather ride in a lane with a small shoulder than try to cross multiple lanes of traffic on a blind curve, but each to his own.

One thing I cannot overstress: as cyclists, we are vehicles just like cars, trucks, vans, and motorcycles. If safety requires it, we can take the Whole lane legally. If we let ourselves be marginalized, we are putting ourselves in dangerous situations--or rather, making already dangerous situations much more unsafe.

I used to ride daily in an occasionally very rainy environment, and I would ride right in the middle of the lane to avoid really big puddles--better to p1ss off drivers than to hit a branch, rock, or sand pile underwater and fall in front of those same drivers and get killed. I would let a train build up behind me, then pull over and let them all pass--better than falling in front of them as they blew past at 50 mph in the rain.

Take the lane for safety.

It's a dangerous crossing but it's the designated route. It's less dangerous to do so than try to ride either direction on the nonshoulder side. Hard to visualize without photos though.

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I don't need photos, I will take your word for it. After all, you are the one who actually rides it.

Did it once, nothing I'd do again. Rather boring ride!

???

The separate pedestrian path is on the south side on the east bound lane.

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@39.8.../data=!3m1!1e3

Walk the short distance to the pedestrian lane on the bridge and ride/walk (as you see fit) in the pedestran lane. Cross back to the legal side at the light at the other side of the bridge. There could be problems crossing the 4-lane road safely.

It's possible that riding on the sidewalk (the pedestrian lane) is legal.

I think he was joking. "Droping the Hamer and Dialing it up to 400 watts" is an ongoing joke on the forums. And yes, I spelled it correctly for the in-joke.

Looking at the map, I'd either take the lane or the shoulder/sidewalk that goes with traffic. It depends upon how fast I am going up that hill, and how fast the traffic is. While taking the lane may be ideal, if the hill puts your speed at 10mph or slower, then I'd see nothing wrong with taking the shoulder/sidewalk for the bridge. It's your safety, so you have to decide which is safer.

But crossing over the hwy to get to the protected shoulder/sidewalk looks pretty dangerous.

GH

good to hear!
- and PS: glad to hear you're riding with a leg full of metal! yikes!
you need a t-shirt that says: i'd rather be biking in traffic with one good leg than sitting on the couch with two good legs! (man..... i hope that sounds encouraging.....)